Pisek Stadium

Pisek (Czech pronunciation: [ˈpiːsɛk]; German: Pisek) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 30,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.

Pisek is colloquially called "South Bohemian Athens", because it has many high schools and schools of higher education, including the Film School in Pisek. Up to the last decades of 19th century Pisek was a centre of the large autonomous Prachensko region.

History

The predecessor of the town was a settlement of the area where gold was panned, which later became a market village with the royal court. In 1254, King Ottokar II founded here a royal town. During his reign, the town grew and its importance increased. A castle was built above the ford across the Otava river,a monastery was founded, and Pisek Stone Bridge was built. Also, at the end of the 13th century, the mint was founded, later moved to Kutna Hora.

From 1308, Pisek was free imperial town, and in the 14th century, Pisek became the administrative centre of Prachensko region. Under the rule of Charles IV, the salt and grain warehouses were founded, and were the largest in Bohemia. For centuries, the town of Pisek was the holder of the largest urban estate in Bohemia, especially forests.

During the Hussite Wars, Pisek was conquered by Hussites and the monastery was razed. During the Thirty Years' War in 1619–1620, the town was conquered and most of its inhabitants killed by the army of Count of Bucquoy. In 1623, Pisek was acquired by the royal chamber again, and in 1641, it was once again promoted to a royal town. In the 18th century, it became the centre of Prachensko again.

In the 19th century, Pisek became the centre of education because several schools of higher education were established here.